


Where the Hurt Builds Up

by SalParadiseLost



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Accidental hurting, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Brodinsons, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt Loki (Marvel), Hurt/Comfort, Loki (Marvel) Needs a Hug, Loki is a Good Bro (Marvel), Mind Manipulation, Protective Loki (Marvel), Protective Thor (Marvel), Protective Valkyrie, The Revengers - Freeform, Thor is a Good Bro (Marvel), Whump, but also physical
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-12
Updated: 2020-12-12
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:26:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28025454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SalParadiseLost/pseuds/SalParadiseLost
Summary: Valkyrie and Thor come back from a trading mission gone wrong. Loki has to fight Thor to get his brother back.
Relationships: Brunnhilde | Valkyrie & Loki (Marvel), Brunnhilde | Valkyrie & Thor (Marvel), Loki & Thor (Marvel)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 146





	Where the Hurt Builds Up

There was blood. More blood than Loki had thought possible.

He hadn’t known what he had been expecting when the messenger girl timidly asked for his presence in the cargo hold, but it certainly wasn’t this.

The air stank of leaked petrol and violence and it made the breath hitch in Loki’s chest. The shadow kept everything half in the dark and unease settled deep in his stomach. There were many voices, the frantic murmur of the other Asgardians as they tried to approach the wounded group.

And, over all their voices, was the growl of his delirious brother.

Thor was half-slumped, half-standing with blood leaking sluggishly from multiple wounds. His face was twisted into a vicious snarl and his eyes were pure fury that Loki had only ever seen directed at Hela and the Kursed. He had backed himself into a corner of the cargo hold and was lashing out from the position. He looks more animal than Asgardian, and like he wanted to tear each of them apart.

The Valkyrie stood between Thor and the other refugees. Her blade brandished and probably the only thing keeping Thor from launching himself at the innocent people.

“You need to snap out of this, your Majesty, you’re scaring everyone.” She was trying to keep her words light, but there was a rancid anxiety that laced through her voice. “If you calm down, we can get you a healer and help set your head straight.”

The words did nothing to assuage the fury that was rolling off his brother. Electricity crackled visibly in the air, gathering like a storm cloud.

“Get back,” Thor shouted full of pain and anger. Ozone laid heavy in the air and lightning sparked from his body. The electric current traveled through the metal ship around them, causing the entire place to groan. The power flickered and the whine of the engines stuttered as they fought to remain on.

A cold sliver of panic set between Loki’s bones. They couldn’t afford to lose the ship, their temporary home now that Asgard was destroyed.

Thank the Norns that they hadn’t left the planet yet and weren’t actually in the air. Loki wasn’t sure how he could handle the threat of plummeting into cold, empty space.

Loki took another moment to assess his furious, bleeding brother before he walked smoothly to the Valkyrie’s side. The gathered people parted for him and he heard their whispers in his ears.

He ordered all of them to their rooms. They only hesitated for a moment before the following his command with concerned glances back to their King. It shocked Loki a little bit that they were able to place their trust in their prodigal prince.

“Hey, I was wondering when you’d show up,” Val said through gritted teeth. It was then when Loki noticed she was harbouring her own injuries and nursing a nasty looking gash in her side. In spurt of empathy, Loki sent her a bit of seidr to ease the pain.

She gasped as it did its work and nodded in thanks.

“I never like to miss the chaos,” he purred, though his eyes never left Thor who was glaring at them from his bloody corner. His brother’s eyes met his and all he saw in them was pure, unfettered hatred.

 _That’s how he should look at you,_ a dark part of his own mind whispered at him. It was the part that had been born in the Sanctuary and told him the truths that he didn’t want to hear. _The hatred, the anger, look at what you’ve brought on yourself._

Valkyrie gave a short laugh. “You do seem to have a habit of sniffing out trouble.”

“Tell me, Valkyrie, what happened?” Loki said, switching his tone into something more serious. The shift was palpable, changing from their almost-friendship into the relationship of commander and prince.

The woman snapped into her role, her back almost imperceivably straightening. “Everything had been going fine until we headed back to the ship. The traders attempted to jump us to steal back to petrol they traded, so they could make off with our money and our resources. We fought and it was easy enough, until one of the men did something to Thor. A magical something I’m guessing, because all the sudden, he turned on me and has been like this ever since. I barely managed to get him back to the ship.”

“I see.” Loki tried to suppress the shiver that ran down his spine. Mind-bending magic was a vile use of seidr and one that he had unfortunate experience with. Memories of the Sanctuary rose up in his head, and he had to force himself to keep them down, so they didn’t swallow him whole.

_You deserved it, though. A monstrous end for such a pathetic creature._

He knew he was barely a shadow to what he could be, but now wasn’t the time for wallowing in his own self-pity, not when Thor needed him.

“You can break the spell, your Highness?” Valkyrie asked hesitantly, and Loki nodded.

“Yes, I can.” He looked down to her. Her breath was laboured and the wound at her side was now dripping blood onto the floor. “Go, Val, tend to your wounds. I can take care of this.”

Her eyes narrowed, flickering between him and his brother. Loki could see the clash between her desire to heal and her duty to the throne. It made a same spark of affection well up in him that she would be concerned about his safety.

“Are you sure?”

“Of course, this isn’t the first time that I’ve seen Thor in a fit.” That wasn’t exactly a lie. He had seen Thor angry hundreds of times. The part he was leaving out was that he had never seen Thor caught in such a bloodthirsty fury.

Valkyrie wavered, searching his face for the lie they both knew was there. Eventually, though, she bit back a hiss of pain and relented.

“Alright, fine, you win. But just,” she hesitated, and her eyes caught on a bloodstain on the floor, “just promise me you’ll call for help if you need it, Loki.”

The spark of affection became a flame. “Yes, I promise.” His tone was gentler than he normally would have allowed.

“Good,” she declared. She hit him in the shoulder before beginning to slowly walk to the exit. “And for once in your life, keep a promise. If you’re dead the next time I see you, I’m going to kill you.”

With those final words, Valkyrie left Loki with his brother.

Loki gulped, and tried to ignore the unease that settled like a weight on his shoulders.

He turned, meeting his brother’s enraged eyes. Seeing that much fury directed at him wasn’t an unusual sight, but he had never gotten it from Thor. The thunderer stood and fell into the battle position that had be trained into both of them at a young age. He couldn’t help but mirror the stance. It was a dance they had both done thousands of times, but their usual playfulness and their brotherly teasing were gone.

This wasn’t going to end peacefully.

“Loki,” Thor growled his name like it was a hateful thing, “my false brother.”

The words hurt and he forced himself to keep his face impassive. Thor was not wrong, but Loki was a fool to let himself be hurt by such a blatant truth.

_You’d be braver if you remembered it instead of convincing others that you’re a tamed monster._

“Thor,” Loki greeted, “my angry brother. We should calm down, yes?” He moved as Thor shifted to the side, careful to keep a wide distance between them.

Thor laughed, and the sound was dark. “Why should I calm down? I should be angry. The truth has finally been revealed to me.”

The shadows of the cargo hold played on Thor’s face and Loki got the image of a wild cat stalking him from the edge of a clearing. “And what truth would that be?”

“Shouldn’t you know, brother?” Thor spat the word and blood trickled down for the large wound on his shoulder. It created a dark red smear on the floor. “A liar always knows the truth the best and that is why they can hide it so well. And you are one of the best, even your skin is a lie.”

Loki flinched. His mind was catching on the words and he fought to keep it down. _Everything is always a lie. Your home was a lie. Your family was a lie. Their love was probably the biggest lie of all, and the one that you keep falling for._ “You avoid the question, though, Thor? What truth has been revealed to you?”

“You,” Thor snapped, “Your truth. The one you try to hide behind lies and illusions and an Asgardian skin. You are destruction, Loki, you bring death wherever you go. You brought ruin to your home and you will more ruin to us now.”

Something in Loki cracked and pain filled his chest. He wasn’t stupid. He knew himself. He knew that the words were true, but they were the truths that were meant to stay locked in the back of his head. They haunted his dreams; they were never meant to be pulled forward and revealed to Thor.

He felt his façade breaking. He needed to finish this and get Thor back to normal. He had to keep himself together enough for that at least.

“Thor listen to me. Your mind has been turned by a spell. Let me break it and then you can tell me anything you wish.”

Thor laughed again, the sound brash, broken and nothing like the thunderer’s usual rich chuckles. This laugh was meant to hurt and cut to the bone.

“You wish that the spell had turned my mind.” Thor sneered, lightning flickering on his palms. That was the only warning that Loki got before Thor launched himself at him, sending both of them rolling to the ground.

Loki dodged the first punches, trying to get back on his feet so he could outside of Thor’s range of attack. But his brother was strong, even when he was already wounded. Thor’s fist cracked into the side of his face, and he felt the ridge of his jawbone crack on impact. Blood welled in his mouth, choking him before he could scream. He spat it on the ground and the metallic taste of it coated his teeth. The pain was immediate and immense, but Loki didn’t have time to dwell on it.

The trickster sent a sting of seidr to Thor, barely managing to catch him off guard and win himself some time. He knew he should draw a weapon, to call forth a dagger to preserve his own pitiful life. But every time he reached for his seidr he thought of Thor hurt _more._ He thought of his brother losing more blood from his already too many injuries.

And he couldn’t.

So instead, it tried to form an illusion.

“Tricks,” Thor ground out, impossibly angrier by seeing the swirl of seidr, “You always have your tricks fit for a coward. You never were anything more than that.”

Loki tried to feint to the side, a distraction so he could roll and stand. He had almost garnered enough seidr to release a spell, but then Thor sent a bolt of lightning straight into his side and he screamed as electricity flowed down his body. His limbs twitched; his mind swam in his head as he desperately tried to focus on getting out of the way of the punch Thor aimed at his face.

He writhed, flailing wildly and trying to gain some type of advantage. When he looked up, he saw Thor’s sickeningly gleeful face reigning over him. Thor grabbed his hair, pinning his head down, and Loki felt a spike of fear lace through his heart. He had been fighting Thor without wanting to hurt him, but Thor…

Thor looked like he could kill him.

Thor looked like he _wanted_ to kill him.

_And would that be surprising given everything he’s done?_

No, it wouldn’t be surprising, but some _foolish_ part of him had believed that Thor would never actually do it.

“You see, little brother, what’s been done is a clever spell. You would enjoy it.” Thor’s hand tracing the line of his broken jaw and settled on his throat. Loki could hear the roar of his own pulse in his ear and the frantic beating of his heart. “Because it didn’t give me false thoughts. It only amplified my own.”

Loki’s eyes widened and cold realization mixed in with his tight panic. Amplification meant the thoughts were always there.

Everything hit Loki like a punch to the gut, like being trapped under the ice, like trying to breathe and finding no oxygen. The thoughts were always there. Thor had just been hiding them. Had he hidden the hate as he declared his love? Had he grown the fury as he tricked Loki into trust?

Had he really thought that Loki was nothing as Loki had just convinced himself that he could be more?

Had even this been a lie?

“Yes,” Thor hissed in barely concealed joy, “You realise it now, brother, all the lies you were foolish enough to believe. It was a fun game for a while. To see much trust I could build, how far I could lead you into this falsehood. Maybe after this they will call me the God of Lies because of my stunning performance.”

No, no, no. This couldn’t be true. This couldn’t be Thor. It had to be the spell. Loki was desperately trying to convince himself, but all of his thoughts stopped, when Thor’s hand tightened on his throat.

Loki had to bite back a yelp as his air was suddenly cut off. Panic flared and became everything. He wanted to beg, to tell Thor that he was wrong even though he wasn’t. Instead, all he could do was desperately try to pry Thor’s hands from his throat.

Thor hummed, with evil glee in his eyes. “It’s even more fun to watch all the trust shatter in your eyes. I wonder if they will stay like that, even when I’ve put an end to your miserable life.”

Loki kicked, and his seidr swirled wildly within him, but he couldn’t focus enough to string three words together, let alone call it forth. He was going to die by Thor’s hand if he didn’t do something.

Thor’s hand tightened more, and a drop of blood dripped on to Loki’s cheek from the shoulder wound.

That was it. Loki put the last of his strength into surging forward, clawing into the open gash on his brother’s shoulder.

Thor loosened his grip, and Loki twisted away, desperately putting distance between them. He forced himself onto his feet, and his whole body sang in pain and panic.

“Thor,” he tried again, and his voice was a scratchy rasp, “This is not you. It is the spell.”

“You’re still lying to yourself?” Thor chuckled and the sound was full of sharp edges, “Do not worry next time I catch you; I will be sure to finish what my Father began. He always did tell me he wanted to get rid of you, to leave you in some desolate wild place just like your sire had done when you were an infant. We even came up with a plan to do it, but then threw yourself from the Bifrost and saved us the trouble. All we had to do was sit back and celebrate when you were finally out of our lives.

“But you couldn’t stay dead, unfortunately, so I’m going to have to remedy that.”

Thor took a step forward, lightning crackling into his hand, and giving his face an eerie blue tint. “Let’s see how much electricity you can take, little brother.”

“Thor, please,” he was begging now, and he hated the sob he heard in his own voice, “you don’t want to do this. Break through this.” Loki tried to back up a step, but his back hit a wall and he realized he was trapped. His brother loomed over him, and the cold thought that his brother’s joyful face might be the last thing he would see.

_Not a terribly surprising last vision, He had always known that one day he would push Thor too far._

“Oh, I do want this. I want it very much. It’s time to get rid of the magpie in the nest.”

Loki closed his eyes and prayed that Thor would at least give him the mercy of making it quick. His heartbeat wildly in his chest, the last beats it would get, and he tried not to cry at the agony of betrayal.

Please be quick, brother. Please, at least make it quick.

“Loki?”

It was Thor’s voice. _His brother’s_ voice. The one that wasn’t filled with hatred.

He risked cracking an eye open, afraid that the voice was going to be a lie too, afraid that his brother’s fury would still be there.

Instead, though, Thor looked at him with confusion. “Brother, what is happening?”

Loki watched as his brother saw the blood on his hands, Loki’s broken jaw, the purpling bruises on his throat and began to put the pieces together.

“No,” he said with helpless denial, his voice breaking. Something inside Loki also felt like it was breaking. He watched in horror as tears began to well up his eyes and suddenly the King of Asgard was crying. “No, I wouldn’t.”

“But you did.” Loki hissed, his voice ice and his throat aching. “Welcome back, brother.” They were cruel words, but cruelty was all he could manage as his body fought through the remaining panic and the pain roared to the forefront.

He stood and his body swayed under him. The pain felt like a betrayal as he struggled to bring himself under control. Thor took a step forward, arms reaching out, and Loki flinched back so suddenly that he nearly collapsed.

Thor frozen, a look of pain coming over his face like he had been struck.

“Loki, I won’t hurt you. I won’t ever hurt you.” Tears were threatening to spill from Thor’s face now and somehow it only made Loki angrier. The panic still stubbornly swirled in him. He still had a hard time actually breathing. The anguish of betrayal and the balm of relief for being alive clashed together in his head.

He was desperately trying to put himself back together and Thor was still blubbering about how he wouldn’t hurt him.

“Shut up, Thor.” Loki spat, ignoring the instant bout of guilt that rose up, “You’ve already said enough.”

Thor’s face tilted into confusion. In an uncharacteristic moment of perception, he seemed to catch the pain under Loki’s words. “What did I say? What did I say while I was under the spell?”

Loki sighed. That had been the one thing he thought he could fully keep from Thor and he had just revealed it. All he wanted to do was disappear. To curl into a corner and nurse his wounds and try to shut out the truth of Thor’s previous words.

Maybe he could even faint. Fainting would be nice, sinking into blackness where neither reality nor his nightmares could rip into him.

“Thor, I know it wasn’t you,” Loki said, even as the hateful words repeated themselves in his head. “But I would like to go lay down now, so please let me be.”

“I can help you,” Thor reached out a hand again, and it hung in the air because he didn’t know what to do with it. He was obviously holding himself back from rushing immediately to Loki’s side. “Please let me help you.”

If he had had the energy left in him, he would have teleported away.

_Run. Run like coward._

Instead, he considered his brother who looked just as broken as Loki’s jaw felt. His eyes caught on his hands, the same hands that had nearly choked the life out of him moments before.

The same hands that had also held him when he was afraid and eased the fear from his brow.

Sentiment. Stupid, foolish sentiment that he had never been able to fully extinguish.

“Well, come here,” Loki finally said, giving in, “I’m not sure how much longer I can stand.”

Thor blinked, the words taking a second to process, before he was hurrying to Loki’s side. His brother’s strong arms took his weight, and Loki breathed a little relief at being able to give up the fight to keep standing. The panic in his chest flared a bit at the sight of Thor’s hands, but nothing like the fear he had felt before.

“Loki, I’m going to carry you. Ready on three.”

Loki whipped his head towards his brother. “Don’t you dare, I’m not a maiden to be carried,” he spat, but Thor was already counting and lifting his brother into his arms.

A wave of dizziness hit him suddenly and he nearly passed out. Maybe it had been good that Thor had decided to carry him. He wanted to ignore the childish part in him that craved being this close to his brother

“The room is swirling,” he murmured, and he felt Thor’s arms tighten.

“I’m sorry, brother. I’m so, so sorry.”

Loki didn’t pay much attention, he just quietly watched as Thor walked through the ship and took them to their shared quarters.

The room was blessedly dark and the familiarity of it wrapped around him like a blanket. He sighed as Thor laid him on the bed. He blinked his eyes open and watched as Thor moved around the room, not quite sure of himself.

The memories of hateful Thor, the Thor that wanted him dead, blinked into existence. It was hard, though, to compare that Thor to his overly gentle brother that was worrying over him like he was made of glass.

“Thor,” Loki murmured as Thor tried to stumble his way through washing the blood off Loki’s face. He had to stifle the urge to flinch every time Thor’s hand came back into view. “Leave it. My seidr will take care of it.”

Thor flinched, like the words hurt. That wasn’t the reaction Loki had wanted, and he reached for Thor’s hand. He found it after a couple tries.

His instincts warred between wanting to shove the hand away and wanting to clutch on to it tighter.

“I’m sorry,” the thunderer whispered, his voice breaking with the words, “I should not have hurt you. I do not remember what I said, but you must know that it was untrue.”

“And if you don’t remember what you said, they how do you know to refute it?” Thor got more of that kicked puppy look and Loki felt a little guilty about it. “Hush, brother, I know the spell. I know how it twists the mind.”

He knew the pain of it. He knew the violation of having your head warped in on itself. He knew the frantic need to figure out which parts were you and which parts were fake. He still had some memories that he couldn’t decide on whether they were real or conjured by Ebony Maw.

He wished his brother would never have had to feel such a thing.

Thor still stood awkwardly by his bed, unsure of what to do. Loki met his eyes and Thor’s gaze skittered away.

This awkward, cautious Thor was so unlike his normally brash brother. Loki definitely didn’t like it. This was all too weird and too wrong.

“Thor, sit on the bed already. I know you want to.”

“You are not afraid of me?”

“Of course, I’m not, you oaf. Don’t think so highly of yourself.”

“Then, why do you continually flinch when you see my hands?” Thor snapped back, his anger rising.

“Well, brother, you were trying to choke me to death ten minutes ago.” Loki snapped right back, even though it made his jaw flare in pain.

They glared at each other, caught in their argument, until Thor’s face softened. “We are really bad at this.”

Loki didn’t let down his defenses just yet. “Bad at what?”

“Communicating,” Thor said, and he sat down heavily on the bed next to Loki. The trickster watched the emotions play out on his face. His brother didn’t even make an effort to hide them and it left Loki wondering what it would be like to constantly live with his heart on his sleeve.

“You can’t say that it’s been our family’s strong suit,” Loki admitted, his voice gentler. He sat up more, grateful that the room didn’t start spinning when he moved.

He gently brought a hand to Thor’s shoulder, and began to heal the wound there. It had mostly stopped bleeding and was sluggishly trying to clot. Loki simply urged the process along while working to knit together the flesh underneath. It wasn’t his most graceful spell; he never excelled at healing magics, but it got the job done and eased the pain.

His eyes traced over his slumped brother, weighed down by words and actions he couldn’t remember.

If Loki had had it his way, he would have hidden before Thor had even seen the damage he had done. He would have covered the bruises with glamour, forced his bone back into the right places by himself, and swallowed down the doubts the furious Thor had sowed. He would have faced them all alone, because that was what he would do for Thor.

He would take all the pain, just so Thor didn’t have to live with it on his conscious.

“I can make you forget if you wish,” Loki offered as he finished with the shoulder wound. It wasn’t fully healed, but it was free of infection and would be fine in a couple days. “I can wipe my injuries from your memory and deal with them myself. You won’t even know you hurt me.”

Thor caught his gaze, and for a sinking moment, Loki thought he might accept the offer.

“Loki, that is the exact opposite of what I want to ask.”

The trickster huffed, laying back down on his pillows. His eyes followed Thor as his brother did the same, settling next to him. It reminded Loki of the days that Thor would sneak into his bed and they would giggle together as they stayed up past their bedtime.

Thor was staring at the ceiling and stubbornly not looking at him.

“That sentence implies that there is something you wish to ask.”

“Yes,” said Thor and the word was heavy, “Tell me what I said while I was delirious.”

Cold fear spread through Loki’s veins and he fought to keep himself still. He fought not to bolt out of bed and run.

_But why resist being a coward when it comes so naturally to you?_

“Are you sure, Thor?” His tongue seemed to stick to the roof of his mouth. His fingers danced against his palm in a nervous habit. “People do not often like the truths they don’t wish to hear.”

“You know that well don’t you?” The words should have been mocking, but they weren’t. They were gentle and weighty, showing that Thor knew exactly what he said.

Loki nodded and the movement felt hollow. “I speak the truth more often than people would like me too. I guess I cannot blame them for lashing out when I present the ugly truth instead of a gilded lie.”

“True, brother, but also a deflection.” Thor finally met his eyes, “What did I say to you?”

He really wasn’t getting out of this. Not with Thor giving Loki that kicked-puppy look, not with the memories of the not-Thor roaring in his head.

“You told me it was a lie,” Loki admitted, and it scared him, “you told me that your love was all an elaborate game. That you never considered me a brother, that you got perverse amusement when I fell for the ruse. And you said…” He felt a sob threatening in his throat. He hated how much he still cared about all this.

“You said that you and Father conspired to get rid of me and that’s why you let me fall from the Bifrost. That you and Father celebrated when you thought I was dead.

You said you thought all these things. Every day. And that the spell only amplified the emotions already caught inside you.”

Loki finished and everything ached. He didn’t dare look at Thor, afraid that he would only see a guilty confirmation on his brother’s (or maybe Thor didn’t even think of them as brothers) face.

He felt Thor’s stare, though, and he still wanted to curl up and hide from it.

“Loki,” Thor’s voice rumbled, and the younger god startled a bit. “None of that is true.”

His older brother shifted, and Loki suddenly found himself in a hug. Thor’s strong, familiar arms were wrapped around him and it made something twisted inside Loki loosen. He knew that he should squirm and put up his usual complaints, but it was too fragile to put the effort into it. And, if he allowed himself to admit it, he wanted the proof of Thor’s affection when all the thoughts in his head tried to convince him it was fake.

“I know that I’ve gotten mad at you,” Thor whispered and one of his hands petted Loki’s hair. Again, he knew he should object, but couldn’t find anything in himself to do it. He knew how he must look—like small child curled against his older brother. “I know that I’ve gotten annoyed with you more times than the Norns can count.” Thor laughed and the sound was rich and smooth on Loki’s nerves.

The next words were somber again, “I know that we’ve fought and betrayed each other and allowed things to break us apart. I know that I should have listened more and not shoved you to the side. But Loki, even through all of that, I have never _never_ wished you were dead.”

There were tears in Thor’s voice and it drew up tears in Loki too. He felt his brother’s heart, deep and strong against his chest, as familiar as his own beat. Thor’s stubble scratched his face right before the Thor pressed a kiss into his temple.

Loki hummed instead of objected and he tried not to think about what that meant. He also tried not to think of the part of him that had _needed_ this so badly.

He had been so alone. Alone on this ship. Alone in Sakaar. Alone on Asgard in the centuries before everything.

He had just started convincing himself he had a place here, within the motley team of the Revengers and at his brother’s side.

And now he felt himself at a crossroads.

One side was his brother, the Valkyrie, Bruce even. They were huddled together and laughing in a shared joke, but Thor was looking back and inviting him in.

On the other side was the shade of his brother, furious and spitting those twisted words. He was darkened by Loki’s own doubts and it reminded him of the cell in the _Sanctuary._

When he saw it like that, the choice seemed blaringly easy.

Loki focused on where he was now, smushed into his brother’s chest as the oaf pressed kisses into his hair. The trickster could feel the wetness of Thor’s tears on his forehead. The effect all together felt like being smothered by an overly large puppy.

How could he have doubted this?

He felt one of Thor’s hands rest against the nape of his neck and not even a whisp of panic appeared. It only felt like his brother.

Loki sighed, easing some of the lingering tension from his muscles. He relaxed into Thor’s hold, just this once not caring about appearances. He was tired. His jaw still hurt. His body ached from the fight and his emotions still felt like they were in a mess. But Thor was here to take the lies away.

Things wouldn’t be completely better in the morning, but right now that didn’t matter.

“I’m glad,” Loki whispered. He didn’t know if the words were loud enough for Thor to hear, but he did feel the hug tighten. “I’ve never wanted you dead either. I’ve always loved you too much to even think about it.”

A chuckle ran through Thor’s body. “I love you too, Loki.”

Everything wouldn’t be magically fixed tomorrow (he was sure that Valkyrie was going to yell at him when she saw his injuries), but it didn’t matter for tonight.

Tonight, Loki fell asleep and it felt like home.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! 
> 
> This prompt is partially inspired by a Whumtober prompt (it's never too late for inspiration) and from my friend Rayna who choose angst when I was trying to decide between angst and fluff. 
> 
> Feel free to check out my other fics too! Visit me at [ SalParadiseLost ](https://salparadiselost.tumblr.com) for my general musing.
> 
> Please leave kudos and comment! Flattery gets you everywhere.


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